Motion exaggerating virtual reality ride systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Techniques for improving ride experience provided by a virtual reality ride system, which includes an electronic display that presents virtual reality image content to a rider of a ride vehicle, sensors that measure sensor data indicative of movement characteristics of the ride vehicle, and virtual reality processing circuitry. The virtual reality processing circuitry determines a predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle based on the sensor data, in which the predicted movement profile indicates that the ride vehicle is expected to move a predicted movement magnitude during a predicted movement duration, determines a target perceived movement magnitude greater than the predicted movement magnitude by applying a movement-exaggeration factor to the predicted movement magnitude, and determines movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content to be presented on the electronic display at least in part by adapting default virtual reality image content to incorporate the target perceived movement magnitude.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to ride systems and, moreparticularly, to virtual reality (VR) ride systems implemented and/oroperated to exaggerate physical motion (e.g., movement) experienced by arider (e.g., user) to facilitate providing a more exhilarating rideexperience.

This section is intended to introduce aspects of art that may be relatedto the techniques of the present disclosure, which are described and/orclaimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providingbackground information to facilitate a better understanding of thepresent disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that thissection should be read in this light and not as an admission of priorart.

Ride systems, such as a roller coaster ride system, are often deployedat amusement parks, theme parks, carnivals, fairs, and/or the like.Generally, a ride system includes a ride environment and one or moreride vehicles, which are implemented and/or operated to carry (e.g.,support) one or more riders through the ride environment. For example, aroller coaster ride system may include a track ride environment and acar ride vehicle. As another example, a lazy river ride system mayinclude a pool ride environment and an inner tube ride vehicle. Tofacilitate providing a more exhilarating and/or different (e.g.,simulated) ride experience, a ride system may be implemented and/oroperated to present virtual reality content to its riders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood uponreading the detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a virtual reality ride system including avirtual reality sub-system, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an example of the virtual reality ride system of FIG. 1, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is another example of the virtual reality ride system of FIG. 1,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an example of a ride vehiclemotion prediction model used by the virtual reality ride system of FIG.1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example process for operating the virtualreality sub-system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process for generating motionexaggerated virtual reality content, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example of a design devicecommunicatively coupled to the virtual reality sub-system of FIG. 1, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is flow diagram of an example process for operating the designdevice of FIG. 7, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

In an embodiment, a virtual reality ride system includes an electronicdisplay that present virtual reality image content to a rider while therider is being carried through a ride environment by a ride vehicle, oneor more sensors that determine sensor data indicative of movementcharacteristics of the ride vehicle in the ride environment, and virtualreality processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the electronicdisplay and the one or more sensors. The virtual reality processingcircuitry determines a predicted movement profile of the ride vehiclebased at least in part on the sensor data received from the one or moresensors, in which the predicted movement profile indicates that the ridevehicle is expected to move a predicted movement magnitude during apredicted movement duration, determines a target perceived movementmagnitude greater than the predicted movement magnitude at least in partby applying a movement-exaggeration factor to the predicted movementmagnitude, and determines movement-exaggerated virtual reality imagecontent to be presented on the electronic display during the predictedmovement duration at least in part by adapting default virtual realityimage content to incorporate the target perceived movement magnitude.

In an embodiment, a method of operating a virtual reality ride systemincludes receiving, using processing circuitry implemented in thevirtual reality ride system, sensor data determined by one or moresensors while a ride vehicle is moving through a ride environment of thevirtual reality ride system, predicting, using the processing circuitry,a movement magnitude that the ride vehicle will experience at a timeduring a prediction horizon based at least in part on the sensor datareceived from the one or more sensors, applying, using the processingcircuitry, one or more movement-exaggeration factors to the movementmagnitude that the ride vehicle is predicted to experience at the timeduring the prediction horizon to determine a target perceived movementmagnitude that differs from the movement magnitude that the ride vehicleis predicted to experience, and adapting, using the processingcircuitry, default virtual reality content corresponding with the timeduring the prediction horizon based at least in part on the targetperceived movement magnitude to determine movement-exaggerated virtualreality content to be presented to a rider of the ride vehicle at thetime.

In an embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory, computer readable mediumstores instructions executable by one or more processors of a virtualreality ride system. The instructions include instructions to determine,using the one or more processors, sensor data measured by one or moresensors as a ride vehicle is carrying a rider through a ride environmentof the virtual reality ride system, determine, using the one or moreprocessors, a predicted movement magnitude of the ride vehicle that ispredicted to occur during a subsequent time period based at least inpart on the sensor data measured by the one or more sensors; anddetermine, using the one or more processors, movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality image content based at least in part on the predictedmovement magnitude such that presentation of the movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality image to the rider results in a perceived movementmagnitude that differs from the predicted movement magnitude of the ridevehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed below. These described embodiments are only examples of thepresently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide aconcise description of these embodiments, all features of an actualimplementation may not be described in the specification. It should beappreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation,as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but may nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean thatthere are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.Additionally, it should be understood that references to “oneembodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are notintended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additionalembodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

Ride systems are often deployed at amusement parks, theme parks,carnivals, fairs, and/or the like. Generally, a ride system includes aride environment and one or more ride vehicles, which are implementedand/or operated to carry (e.g., support) one or more riders through theride environment. For example, a lazy river ride system may include apool ride environment and one or more inner tube ride vehicles. Asanother example, a log flume ride system may include a flume rideenvironment and one or more artificial log ride vehicles. As a furtherexample, a boat ride system may include a water body ride environmentand one or more boat ride vehicles. Accordingly, physical (e.g., actualand/or real) movement (e.g., motion) of a rider on a ride system maygenerally be dependent on movement of a ride vehicle carrying the rider.

To facilitate providing a more exhilarating and/or different (e.g.,simulated) ride experience, a ride system may be implemented and/oroperated to present virtual reality (VR) content to its riders. Forexample, a virtual reality ride system may be implemented and/oroperated to artificially produce one or more sensory stimuli, such as anaudio (e.g., sound) stimuli, a tactile (e.g., haptic) stimuli, and/or avisual (e.g., optical) stimuli. To facilitate artificially producingvisual stimuli, a virtual reality ride system may include one or moreelectronic displays, such as a vehicle display and/or a head-mounteddisplay, implemented and/or operated to display (e.g., present) virtualreality image content.

Generally, visual stimuli are perceived by a human's visual system. Infact, at least in some instances, changes in perceived visual stimuliover time may enable a human to detect motion (e.g., movement). Forexample, when a perceived visual stimuli is translated left over time,the human may perceive (e.g., determine and/or detect) that he/she ismoving right relative to the perceived visual stimuli or vice versa.Additionally or alternatively, when a perceived visual stimuli istranslated upward over time, the human may perceive that he/she ismoving downward relative to the perceived visual stimuli or vice versa.

Movement of a human may additionally or alternatively be perceived bythe human's vestibular system (e.g., inner ear). In other words, atleast in some instances, movement of a human may be perceived by thehuman's vestibular system as well as by the human's visual system.However, at least in some instances, a mismatch between the movementperceived by the human's vestibular system and the movement perceived bythe human's visual system may result in the human experiencing motionsickness.

In other words, at least in some instances, a rider on a virtual realityride system may experience motion sickness, which affects (e.g., reducesand/or degrades) the ride experience, when visually perceived movementdoes not match movement perceived by the rider's vestibular system. Asdescribed above, a ride vehicle may carry a rider through a rideenvironment of a virtual reality ride system and, thus, movement of therider may be dependent at least in part on movement of the ride vehicle.Thus, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, avirtual reality ride system may coordinate virtual reality content withphysical ride vehicle movement. For example, the virtual reality ridesystem may display virtual reality image content that is expected toresult in characteristics, such as magnitude, time, duration, and/ordirection, of visually perceived movement matching correspondingcharacteristics of movement perceived by the rider's vestibular system.

In other words, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motionsickness, in some instances, a virtual reality ride system may generatevirtual reality image content based at least in part on characteristicsof physical (e.g., actual and/or real) movement of a ride vehicle and,thus, a rider carried by the ride vehicle. For example, when the ridevehicle moves in an upward direction a magnitude of five meters, thevirtual reality ride system may present virtual reality image contentthat is expected to result in a rider visually perceiving an upwardmovement of five meters. However, at least in some instances,implementing a virtual reality ride system in this manner may limitmagnitude (e.g., distance) of movement visually perceived from virtualreality content and, thus, exhilaration (e.g., excitement) provided bythe virtual reality ride system to the magnitude of the physicalmovement. In other words, at least in some instances, presenting virtualreality content that results in magnitudes of perceived movement exactlymatching may limit exhilaration and, thus, ride experience provided by avirtual reality ride system.

Accordingly, to facilitate improving ride experience, the presentdisclosure provides techniques for implementing and/or operating avirtual reality ride system to present virtual reality content thatexaggerates (e.g., increases and/or amplifies) physical movement (e.g.,motion) experienced by a ride vehicle and, thus, a rider being carriedby the ride vehicle. To facilitate providing a virtual reality rideexperience, a virtual reality ride system may include a virtual realitysub-system implemented and/or operated to generate virtual realitycontent, such as virtual reality image content to be presented (e.g.,displayed) on an electronic display. The virtual reality sub-system mayadditionally be implemented and/or operated to present the virtualreality content, for example, by displaying the virtual reality imagecontent on the electronic display based at least in part oncorresponding image data.

As described above, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producingmotion sickness, a virtual reality ride system may present virtualreality content to a rider of a ride vehicle such that movementperceived from the virtual reality content is coordinated with physical(e.g., real and/or actual) movement of the ride vehicle. For example, tocompensate for physical movement of a ride vehicle, the virtual realityride system may generate and display virtual reality image content thatresults in visually perceived movement occurring at approximately thesame time, for approximately the same duration, and/or in approximatelythe same direction as the physical movement of the ride vehicle. Infact, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generatemovement-coordinated virtual reality content by adapting (e.g.,adjusting) default virtual reality content, for example, whichcorresponds with a default (e.g., stationary and/or planned) ridevehicle movement profile.

To facilitate coordinating presentation of virtual reality content withphysical movement of a ride vehicle, a virtual reality ride system mayinclude one or more sensors, such as a vehicle sensor, a rider (e.g.,head-mounted display) sensor, and/or an environment sensor. For example,a ride vehicle may include one or more vehicle sensors, such as agyroscope and/or accelerometer, which are implemented and/or operated tosense (e.g., measure and/or determine) characteristics of ride vehiclemovement, such as movement time, movement duration, movement direction(e.g., orientation), and/or movement magnitude (e.g., distance). Assuch, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may coordinatepresentation of virtual reality content with ride vehicle movement atleast in part by presenting movement-coordinated virtual reality contentat approximately the same time as sensor data indicative of occurrenceof the ride vehicle movement is determined (e.g., sensed and/ormeasured).

However, at least in some instances, generation and/or presentation(e.g., display) of virtual reality content is generallynon-instantaneous. In other words, at least in some such instances,reactively generating and/or presenting virtual reality content mayresult in presentation of movement-coordinated virtual reality contentbeing delayed relative to a corresponding ride vehicle movement. Merelyas an illustrative non-limiting example, due to the non-instantaneousnature, reactively generating and/or presenting movement-coordinatedvirtual reality image content may result in the movement-coordinatedvirtual reality image content being displayed after the correspondingride vehicle movement has already occurred, which, at least in someinstances, may result in increased motion sickness.

Thus, to facilitate coordinating presentation of movement-coordinatedvirtual reality content with a corresponding ride vehicle movement, insome embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may predictcharacteristics, such as movement time, movement duration, movementdirection, and/or movement magnitude, of the ride vehicle movement overa prediction horizon (e.g., subsequent period of time). In other words,in such embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may determine apredicted ride vehicle movement profile (e.g., trajectory) over theprediction horizon. For example, the predicted ride vehicle movementprofile may indicate that a corresponding ride vehicle moves a firstdistance (e.g., magnitude) in a first direction from a first time to asecond (e.g., subsequent) time, a second distance in a second directionfrom the second time to a third (e.g., subsequent) time, and so on.

To facilitate determining a predicted ride vehicle movement profile, insome embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may utilize a ridevehicle movement prediction model that describes expected relationshipsbetween characteristics of ride vehicle movement and sensor data, forexample, received from a vehicle sensor deployed on a ride vehicle, arider sensor associated with a rider, and/or an environment sensordeployed in a ride environment. Thus, in such embodiments, the virtualreality ride system may determine a predicted ride vehicle movementprofile at least in part by supplying (e.g., inputting) the sensor datato the ride vehicle movement prediction model. In some embodiments, aride vehicle movement prediction model may additionally describeexpected relationships between characteristics of ride vehicle movementand one or more control commands used to control operation of a ridevehicle. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a ride vehicle movementprediction model may describe expected relationships betweencharacteristics of ride vehicle movement and a default (e.g., planned)movement profile of a ride vehicle.

Based on a predicted ride vehicle movement profile (e.g., predicted ridevehicle movement characteristics over time), a virtual reality ridesystem may preemptively (e.g., predictively) generate and/or presentmovement-coordinated virtual reality content. For example, in someembodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generate and/or displaymovement-coordinated virtual reality image content with a target displaytime set to match the predicted movement time of a corresponding ridevehicle movement. Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual realityride system may generate and/or display movement-coordinated virtualreality image content with a target display duration set to match thepredicted movement duration of a corresponding ride vehicle movement.Furthermore, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system maygenerate and/or display movement-coordinated virtual reality imagecontent to produce a visually perceived movement direction that matchesthe predicted movement direction (e.g., orientation) of a correspondingride vehicle movement. Moreover, in some embodiments, the virtualreality ride system may generate and/or display movement-coordinatedvirtual reality image content based at least in part on the predictedmovement magnitude (e.g., distance) of a corresponding ride vehiclemovement.

In some embodiments, movement-coordinated virtual reality content may bepresented to produce a perceived movement magnitude that does notexactly match the predicted movement magnitude (e.g., distance) of acorresponding ride vehicle movement. In other words, in suchembodiments, a virtual reality ride system may generate themovement-coordinated virtual reality content based on a target perceivedmovement magnitude that differs from the predicted movement magnitude ofthe corresponding ride vehicle movement. For example, the targetperceived ride vehicle movement magnitude may be greater than thepredicted ride vehicle movement magnitude to facilitate providing a moreexhilarating and, thus, improved ride experience.

To facilitate determining a target perceived ride vehicle movementmagnitude greater than a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system maydetermine one or more movement-exaggeration factors to be applied to thepredicted ride vehicle movement magnitude. For example, themovement-exaggeration factors may include one or more offset values,which when applied, bias the target perceived ride vehicle movementmagnitude relative to the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude.Additionally or alternatively, the movement-exaggeration factors mayinclude one or more gain values, which when applied, scale the targetperceived ride vehicle movement magnitude relative to the predicted ridevehicle movement magnitude. However, presenting movement-coordinatedvirtual reality content generated based on a target perceived ridevehicle movement magnitude that differs from a corresponding predictedride vehicle movement magnitude may produce a mismatch between perceivedmovement magnitudes, which potentially causes motion sickness and, thus,affects (e.g., reduces) the ride experience provided by a virtualreality ride system.

To facilitate improving ride experience, in some embodiments, the valueof one or more movement-exaggeration factors may be calibrated (e.g.,tuned) via a calibration (e.g., tuning) process, for example, performedoffline at least in part by a design system and/or a design device inthe design system. During the calibration process, in some embodiments,a design device may determine and evaluate one or more candidatemovement-exaggeration factors. For example, the candidatemovement-exaggeration factors may include a first candidatemovement-exaggeration factor with a largest (e.g., first) value, asecond candidate movement-exaggeration factor with a next largest (e.g.,second) value, and so on.

To select a movement-exaggeration factor from the multiple candidatesduring the calibration process, in some embodiments, the design devicemay successively (e.g., sequentially and/or serially) evaluate whetherthe candidate movement-exaggeration factors result in motion sickness,for example, progressing from the largest value candidatemovement-exaggeration factor to the smallest value candidatemovement-exaggeration factor To help illustrate, continuing with theabove example, the design device may evaluate whether the firstcandidate movement-exaggeration factor, which has the largest value ofthe candidates, results in motion sickness, for example, based on a userinput received from a user (e.g., rider) presented withmovement-exaggerated (e.g., coordinated) virtual reality contentgenerated using the first candidate movement-exaggeration factor Whenmotion sickness does not result, the design device may select the firstcandidate as the movement-exaggeration factor to be used to by a virtualreality ride system to generate subsequent movement-coordinated virtualreality content, for example, by storing it in the virtual reality ridesystem.

When the first candidate movement-exaggeration factor results in motionsickness, the design device may evaluate whether the second candidatemovement-exaggeration factor, which has the next largest value of thecandidates, results in motion sickness, for example, based on a userinput received from a user presented with movement-exaggerated virtualreality content generated using the second candidatemovement-exaggeration factor. When motion sickness does not result, thedesign device may select the second candidate as themovement-exaggeration factor to be used to by the virtual reality ridesystem to generate subsequent movement-coordinated virtual realitycontent, for example, by storing it in the virtual reality ride system.On the other hand, the design device may continue progressing throughone or more of the remaining candidate movement-exaggeration factors ina similar manner when the second candidate movement-exaggeration factorresults in motion sickness.

In this manner, the techniques described in the present disclosure mayfacilitate reducing likelihood of a virtual reality ride systemproducing motion sickness, which, at least in some instances, mayfacilitate improving the ride experience provided by the virtual realityride system. However, instead of merely coordinating virtual realitycontent with ride vehicle movement to reduce likelihood of producingmotion sickness, the techniques described in the present disclosure mayenable a virtual reality ride system to present virtual reality contentthat exaggerates physical (e.g., real and/or actual) ride vehiclemovement. In other words, as will be described in more detail below, thetechniques described in the present disclosure may enable a virtualreality ride system to present virtual reality content that is notlimited to the magnitude of ride vehicle movement with reducedlikelihood of producing motion sickness, which may facilitate providinga more exhilarating and, thus, improved ride experience.

To help illustrate, an example of a virtual reality ride system 10,which includes a ride environment 12, one or more ride vehicles 14, anda virtual reality sub-system 16, is shown in FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the virtual reality ride system 10 may be deployed at anamusement park, a theme park, a carnival, a fair, and/or the like.Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system 10may be a roller coaster ride system, a lazy river ride system, a logflume ride system, a boat ride system, or the like.

However, it should be appreciated that the depicted example is merelyintended to be illustrate and not limiting. For example, in otherembodiments, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may be remote from theone or more ride vehicles 14 and/or the ride environment 12.Additionally or alternatively, in other embodiments, the virtual realitysub-system 16 may be fully included in one or more ride vehicles 14. Inany case, a ride vehicle 14 may generally be implemented and/or operatedto carry (e.g., support) one or more riders (e.g., users) through theride environment 12 of the virtual reality ride system 10. Accordingly,physical (e.g., actual and/or real) movement (e.g., motion) of a riderin the ride environment 12 may generally be dependent on physicalmovement of a ride vehicle 14 carrying the rider.

To facilitate controlling movement of a ride vehicle 14, the ridevehicle 14 may include one or more vehicle actuators 18. For example,the vehicle actuators 18 may include a steering wheel and/or a rudderthat enables controlling movement direction of the ride vehicle 14. Insome embodiments, a ride vehicle 14 may additionally or alternativelyinclude one or more haptic vehicle actuators 18 implemented and/oroperated to present virtual reality tactile content. Furthermore, insome embodiments, the vehicle actuators 18 may include an engine, amotor, and/or a brake that enables controlling movement speed of theride vehicle 14. In other embodiments, one or more vehicle actuators 18may not be implemented in a ride vehicle 14, for example, when movementof an inner tube ride vehicle 14 is instead controlled by propulsionproduced by a rider and/or propulsion produced by the ride environment12.

To facilitate producing ride environment propulsion, as in the depictedexample, one or more environment actuators 20 may be deployed in theride environment 12. For example, the environment actuators 20 mayinclude an engine and/or a motor that is implemented and/or operated topush or pull a ride vehicle 14 through the ride environment 12.Additionally or alternatively, the environment actuators 20 may includea brake that is implemented and/or operated to slow or stop a ridevehicle 14 in the ride environment 12. Furthermore, in some embodiments,the environment actuators 20 may include a pressurized air blower or anaccordion mechanism that is implemented and/or operated to artificiallyproduce waves in the ride environment 12. In other embodiments, one ormore environment actuators 20 may not be implemented in the rideenvironment 12, for example, when movement of an inner tube ride vehicle14 is instead controlled by propulsion produced by a rider, propulsionproduced by one or more vehicle actuators 18, and/or propulsionnaturally occurring in the ride environment 12.

As in the depicted example, the virtual reality ride system 10 mayadditionally include a ride control sub-system 22, which is implementedand/or operated to generally control operation of one or more vehicleactuators 18 and/or one or more environment actuators 20. To facilitatecontrolling operation, the ride control sub-system 22 may include one ormore control processors 24 (e.g., control circuitry and/or processingcircuitry) and control memory 26. In some embodiments, a controlprocessor 24 may execute instruction stored in the control memory 26 toperform operations, such as generating a control command that instructsa vehicle actuator 18 and/or an environment actuator 20 to perform acontrol action (e.g., actuate). Additionally or alternatively, a controlprocessor 24 may operate based on circuit connections formed therein. Assuch, in some embodiments, the one or more control processors 24 mayinclude one or more general purpose microprocessors, one or moreapplication specific processors (ASICs), one or more field programmablelogic arrays (FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

In addition to instructions, in some embodiments, the control memory 26may store data, such as sensor data received from one or more sensors28. Thus, in some embodiments, the control memory 26 may include one ormore tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media that storeinstructions executable by processing circuitry, such as a controlprocessor 24, and/or data to be processed by the processing circuitry.For example, the control memory 26 may include one or more random accessmemory (RAM) devices, one or more read only memory (ROM) devices, one ormore rewritable non-volatile memory devices, such as a flash memorydrive, a hard disk drive, an optical disc drive, and/or the like. Inother embodiments, a ride control sub-system 22 may be obviated and,thus, not included in a virtual reality ride system 10, for example,when the virtual reality ride system 10 does not include vehicleactuators 18 and/or environment actuators 20.

In any case, as in the depicted example, the virtual reality sub-system16 may include one or more sensors 28, one or more input/output (I/O)interfaces 30, virtual reality (VR) processing circuitry 32, virtualreality (VR) memory 34, and one or more electronic displays 36. Inparticular, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may becommunicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces 30. In someembodiments, virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may executeinstruction stored in the virtual reality memory 34 to performoperations, such as determining a predicted movement profile of a ridevehicle 14 and/or generating virtual reality content. Additionally oralternatively, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may operatebased on circuit connections formed therein. As such, in someembodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may include oneor more general purpose microprocessors, one or more applicationspecific processors (ASICs), one or more field programmable logic arrays(FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

As in the depicted example, the one or more electronic displays 36 mayalso be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces 30,for example, to enable the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 tosupply image data corresponding with virtual reality image content tothe one or more electronic displays 36. In some embodiments, the virtualreality sub-system 16 may include one or more electronic displays 36integrated with a ride vehicle 14 as a vehicle display 36A. Additionallyor alternatively, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may include one ormore electronic displays 36 implemented separately (e.g., independentand/or distinct) from the ride vehicles 14, for example, as a headsetdisplay (e.g., head-mounted display (HMD)) 36B.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, the virtual reality sub-system16 may include one or more audio speakers 38. In particular, the one ormore audio speakers 38 may also be communicatively coupled to the one ormore I/O interfaces 30, for example, to enable the virtual realityprocessing circuitry 32 to supply audio data corresponding with virtualreality audio content to the one or more audio speakers 38. In someembodiments, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may include one or moreaudio speakers 38 integrated with a ride vehicle 14 as a vehicle speaker38A. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality sub-system 16may include one or more audio speakers 38 implemented separately (e.g.,independent and/or distinct) from the ride vehicles 14, for example, asa headset (e.g., head-mounted) speaker 38B.

Similarly, in some embodiments, one or more haptic vehicle actuators 18may be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces 30, forexample, to enable the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 to supplycontrol commands (e.g., haptic data) corresponding with virtual realitytactile content to the one or more haptic vehicle actuators 18. However,in other embodiments, vehicle actuators 18 may not be included in avirtual reality sub-system 16, for example, when the vehicle actuators18 are not haptic vehicle actuators 18 implemented and/or operated topresent virtual reality tactile content. Additionally or alternatively,audio speakers 38 may not be included in a virtual reality sub-system16, for example, when the audio speakers 38 are not implemented and/oroperated to present virtual reality audio content.

Moreover, the one or more sensors 28 may be communicatively coupled tothe one or more I/O interfaces 30, for example, to enable the virtualreality processing circuitry 32 to receive sensor data from the one ormore sensors 28. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system 16may include one or more inertial motion sensors 28, such as anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or a magnetometer. Additionally oralternatively, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may include one or moreproximity sensors 28, such as a sonar sensor 28, a radio detection andranging (RADAR) sensor 28, and/or a light detection and ranging (LIDAR)sensor 28. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system 16 mayadditionally or alternatively include one or more location sensors 28,such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor (e.g., receiver) 28.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, one or more vehicle sensors 28Amay be deployed at a ride vehicle 14, for example, to determine (e.g.,sense and/or measure) sensor data indicative of pose of the ride vehicle14, location of the ride vehicle 14, previous movement characteristics(e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle 14, and/or current movementcharacteristics of the ride vehicle 14. In some embodiments, the virtualreality sub-system 16 may additionally or alternatively include one ormore rider sensors 28B, for example, implemented and/or operated todetermine sensor data indicative of rider pose. Moreover, in someembodiments, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may additionally oralternatively include one or more environment sensors deployed in theride environment 12, for example, to determine sensor data indicative oflocation of a ride vehicle 14 in the ride environment 12, previousmovement characteristics of the ride vehicle 14 in the ride environment12, current movement characteristics (e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle14 in the ride environment 12, and/or characteristics of other movementin the ride environment 12.

To help illustrate, an example of a portion of a virtual reality ridesystem 10A is shown in FIG. 2 and an example of a portion of anothervirtual reality ride system 10B is shown in FIG. 3. In particular, thevirtual reality ride system 10A of FIG. 2 may be a boat ride system 10and the virtual reality ride system 10B of FIG. 3 may be a lazy riverride system 10. However, it should be appreciated that the techniquesdescribed in the present disclosure may additionally or alternatively beused to implement and/or operate other types of virtual reality ridesystems 10, such as a roller coaster ride system, a log flume ridesystem, a drop tower ride system, a pendulum ride system, a swing ridesystem, a pirate ship ride system, a scrambler ride system, a roboticarm ride system, and/or the like.

As depicted, the virtual reality ride system 10A of FIG. 2 and thevirtual reality ride system 10B of FIG. 3 each includes a ride vehicle14 carrying a rider 40 in a ride environment 12. In particular, the ridevehicle 14A of FIG. 2 may be a boat ride vehicle 14 and the rideenvironment 12A of FIG. 2 may include a water body 42A (e.g., a pool, alake, a river, and/or the like) and multiple buoys 44 floating on thewater body 42A. On the other hand, the ride vehicle 14B of FIG. 3 may bean inner tube ride vehicle 14 and the ride environment 12B of FIG. 3 mayinclude a water body 42B (e.g., a pool, a lake, a river, and/or thelike) and a wall 46 implemented along (e.g., enclosing) the water body42B.

Additionally, as depicted, the ride vehicle 14A of FIG. 2 and the ridevehicle 14B of FIG. 3 each floats on a corresponding water body 42 and,thus, move with waves 48 therein. Furthermore, as depicted, the rider40A in FIG. 2 and the rider 40B in FIG. 3 each has access to anelectronic display 36, for example, which is implemented and/or operatedto display virtual reality image content. In particular, the rider 40Ain FIG. 2 has access to a vehicle display 36A integrated with (e.g.,coupled to) the ride vehicle 14A. On the other hand, the rider 40B inFIG. 3 has access to a headset display 36B, for example, implemented ina headset 50 along with one or more rider sensors 28B.

To facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, avirtual reality ride system 10 may coordinate presentation of virtualreality content, such as virtual reality image content displayed on anelectronic display 36 carried by a ride vehicle 14, with physicalmovement (e.g., motion) of the ride vehicle 14. Additionally, asdescribed above, the ride vehicle 14A of FIG. 2 and the ride vehicle 14Bof FIG. 3 may each move with waves 48 in a corresponding water body 42.In some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system 10 may controllablyproduce at least a portion of the waves 48, for example, at least inpart by controlling operation of an environment actuator 20 and/or avehicle actuator 18.

However, waves 48 in a water body 42 may additionally or alternativelybe produced by factors outside the control of a virtual reality ridesystem 10, such as a sudden gust of wind and/or a change ingravitational force exerted on the water body 42. Moreover, the movementprofile of the ride vehicle 14 resulting from interaction with a wave 48may also vary with factors outside the control of a virtual reality ridesystem 10, such as weight of a rider 40 carried by the ride vehicle 14.Since such factors often vary over time, at least in some instances, themovement profile of a ride vehicle 14 may vary between different passes(e.g., cycles or rides) through a corresponding ride environment 12. Inother words, at least in some instances, the actual movement profile ofa ride vehicle 14 during a pass through a corresponding ride environment12 may differ from its planned (e.g., default) movement profile.

To facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness during apass through a ride environment 12, the virtual reality ride system 10may adaptively predict the movement profile of the ride vehicle 14 basedat least in part on sensor data determined by one or more of its sensors28 during the pass and/or during one or more previous passes through theride environment 12. As depicted, the virtual reality ride systems 10each include multiple environment sensors 28C deployed in its rideenvironment 12. In particular, the environment sensors 28C of FIG. 2 aredeployed on the buoys 44 in the ride environment 12A and the environmentsensors 28C of FIG. 3 are deployed along the wall 46 in the rideenvironment 12B.

In some embodiments, the environment sensors 28C include one or moreproximity sensors 28, such as a RADAR sensor 28 or a LIDAR sensor 28,and, thus, operate to determine (e.g., sense or measure) sensor dataindicative of distance between the proximity environment sensor 28C anda physical object. For example, a proximity environment sensor 28Cimplemented on a buoy 44 in FIG. 2 may determine sensor data indicativeof distance between the buoy 44 and the ride vehicle 14A. Additionallyor alternatively, a proximity environment sensor 28C implemented at apoint on the wall 46 in FIG. 2 may determine sensor data indicative ofdistance between the point on the wall 46 and the ride vehicle 14B. Infact, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system 10 maytriangulate the distance of a ride vehicle 14 from multiple proximityenvironment sensors 28C to determine the location of the ride vehicle 14in a corresponding ride environment 12.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the environment sensors 28Cadditionally or alternatively include an inertial motion sensor 28, suchas an accelerometer and/or a gyroscope, and, thus, operate to determinesensor data indicative of movement of the inertial movement sensor 28.For example, an inertial motion environment sensor 28C implemented on abuoy 44 in FIG. 2 may determine sensor data indicative of movement ofthe buoy 44. In other words, since the buoy 44 floats on the water body42A of FIG. 2, sensor data determined by an inertial motion environmentsensor 28C implemented thereon may be indicative of the movementcharacteristics of waves 48 in the water body 42A.

As depicted, the ride vehicle 14A of FIG. 2 and the ride vehicle 14B ofFIG. 3 each includes a vehicle sensor 28A. In some embodiments, thevehicle sensor 28A may be an inertial motion sensor 28, such as anaccelerometer and/or a gyroscope, and, thus, operate to determine (e.g.,sense or measure) sensor data indicative of movement of thecorresponding ride vehicle 14. Additionally or alternatively, thevehicle sensor 28A may be a proximity sensors 28, such as a RADAR sensor28 or a LIDAR sensor 28, and, thus, operate to determine (e.g., sense ormeasure) sensor data indicative of distance between the correspondingride vehicle 14 and a physical object. For example, a proximity vehiclesensor 28A deployed on the ride vehicle 14A of FIG. 2 may determinesensor data indicative of distance from a buoy 44 floating on the waterbody 42A, distance from another ride vehicle 14 in the ride environment12A, and/or distance from a wave 48 in the water body 42A. Similarly, aproximity vehicle sensor 28A deployed on the ride vehicle 14B of FIG. 2may determine sensor data indicative of distance from the wall 46running along the water body 42B, distance from another ride vehicle 14in the ride environment 12B, and/or distance from a wave 48 in the waterbody 42B.

Returning to the virtual reality ride system 10 of FIG. 1, as describedabove, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may receive sensordata from one or more sensors 28 via one or more I/O interfaces 30 inthe virtual reality sub-system 16. Additionally, as in the depictedexample, a remote data source 52 may be communicatively coupled to theone or more I/O interfaces 30 and, thus, virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 in the virtual reality sub-system 16. For example, theremote data source 52 may be a weather forecast server (e.g., database)that stores sensor data indicative of current weather conditions and/orpredicted sensor data indicative of forecast (e.g., future) weatherconditions.

However, it should again be appreciated that the depicted example isintended to be illustrative and not limiting. In particular, in otherembodiments, data received from a remote data source 52 may be obviated,for example, by sensor data received from one or more sensors 28 in avirtual reality sub-system 16. Thus, in such embodiments, the remotedata source 52 may not be included in and/or communicatively coupled toa corresponding virtual reality ride system 10.

In any case, as described above, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may operate to determine a predicted movement profile(e.g., trajectory) of a ride vehicle 14 based at least in part onreceived sensor data. Additionally, as described above, the virtualreality processing circuitry 32 may operate to generatemovement-coordinated virtual reality content based at least in part onthe predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle 14. Furthermore, asdescribed above, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may operate at least in part by executing instructionsstored in the virtual reality memory 34, for example, to process datastored in the virtual reality memory 34.

As such, in some embodiments, the virtual reality memory 34 may includeone or more tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media that storeinstructions executable by processing circuitry, such as virtual realityprocessing circuitry 32, and/or data to be processed by the processingcircuitry. For example, the virtual reality memory 34 may include one ormore random access memory (RAM) devices, one or more read only memory(ROM) devices, one or more rewritable non-volatile memory devices, suchas a flash memory drive, a hard disk drive, an optical disc drive,and/or the like. As in the depicted example, the data and/orinstructions stored in the virtual reality memory 34 may include defaultvirtual reality (VR) content 54 and a ride vehicle movement predictionmodel 56.

In some embodiments, the default virtual reality content 54 maycorrespond with virtual reality content, such as virtual reality imagecontent and/or virtual reality audio content, that is to be presented toa rider 40 when a corresponding ride vehicle 14 follows a default (e.g.,planned or stationary) movement profile. Thus, as will be described inmore detail below, in some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system16 may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality content, such asmovement-coordinated virtual reality image content and/ormovement-coordinated virtual reality audio content, at least in part byadjusting the default virtual reality content 54 based at least in parton deviation of a predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle 14 fromits default movement profile. Additionally, in some embodiments, thevirtual reality sub-system 16 may determine the predicted movementprofile of the ride vehicle 14 by executing the ride vehicle movementprediction model 56 based at least in part on received sensor data.

An example of a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A, which may bedeployed in and/or utilized by a virtual reality ride system 10, isshown in FIG. 4. The ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A mayreceive one or more input parameters 58 including sensor data 60 anddetermine one or more output parameters 62 indicative of a predictedride vehicle movement profile (e.g., trajectory) 64 over a predictionhorizon. However, it should be appreciated that the depicted example ismerely intended to be illustrative and no limiting. In particular, inother embodiments, a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56 mayreceive other types of input parameters 58 and/or determine other typesof output parameters 62.

In fact, as in the depicted example, the input parameters 58 mayadditionally include one or more actuator control commands 65. Asdescribed above, in some embodiments, a ride control sub-system 22 maycommunicate a control command to an actuator, such as a vehicle actuator18 or an environment actuator 20, that instructs the actuator to performa control action, for example, which facilitates controlling movement ofa ride vehicle 14 in a ride environment 12. As such, to facilitatedetermining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64, in someembodiments, one or more actuator control commands 65 corresponding withcontrol actions that potentially affect movement of a ride vehicle 14 inthe ride environment 12 may be included in the input parameters 58supplied to the ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A. Additionallyor alternatively, the input parameters 58 may include a default movementprofile 67 of a ride vehicle 14 in a corresponding ride environment 12.In other embodiments, actuator control commands 65 and/or a defaultmovement profile 67 may not be included in input parameters 58 suppliedto a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56, for example, wheninformation indicated by the actuator control commands 65 and/or thedefault movement profile 67 is obviated by the sensor data 60.

As in the depicted example, the sensor data 60 included in the inputparameters 58 may include vehicle sensor data 60A received from one ormore vehicle sensors 28A. As described above, when the vehicle sensor28A includes a proximity sensor 28A deployed on a ride vehicle 14, thevehicle sensor data 60A may be indicative of distance between the ridevehicle 14 and a physical object in a corresponding ride environment 12,such as another ride vehicle 14, a buoy 44, a wall 46, a wave 48, and/orthe like. When the vehicle sensor 28A includes an inertial motionvehicle sensor 28A, the vehicle sensor data 60A may be indicative ofcurrent and/or previous movement characteristics of the ride vehicle 14.

Additionally, as in the depicted example, the sensor data 60 included inthe input parameters 58 may include rider sensor data 60B received fromone or more rider sensors 28B. In some embodiments, a rider sensor 28Bmay be a proximity sensor 28B and, thus, the rider sensor data 60B maybe indicative of distance between a corresponding rider 40 and aphysical object in a corresponding ride environment 12, such as aspecific point on a ride vehicle 14 carrying the rider 40, another ridevehicle 14, a buoy 44, a wall 46, a wave 48, and/or the like.Additionally or alternatively, a rider sensor 28B may be an inertialmotion sensor 28B and, thus, the rider sensor data 60B may be indicativeof current and/or previous movement characteristics of a rider 40 and,thus, a ride vehicle 14 carrying the rider 40.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, the sensor data 60 included inthe input parameters 58 may include environment sensor data 60C receivedfrom one or more environment sensors 28C. As described above, when theenvironment sensor 28C includes a proximity sensor 28C, the environmentsensor data 60C may be indicative of distance between the proximityenvironment sensor 28C and a physical object in the ride environment 12,such as a ride vehicle 14, a buoy 44, a wall 46, a wave 48, and/or thelike. Additionally or alternatively, when the environment sensor 28Cincludes an inertial motion sensor 28C, the environment sensor data 60Cmay be indicative of current and/or previous movement characteristics ofa physical object in the ride environment 12, such as a buoy 44, a wave48, a ride vehicle 14, and/or the like.

In other embodiments, environment sensor data 60C may not be included ininput parameters 58, for example, when a virtual reality ride system 10does not include environment sensors 28C. Additionally, in otherembodiments, rider sensor data 60B may not be included in inputparameters 58, for example, when a virtual reality ride system 10 doesnot include rider sensors 28B. Furthermore, in other embodiments,vehicle sensor data 60A may not be included in input parameters 58, forexample, when a virtual reality ride system 10 does not include vehiclesensors 28A.

As described above, the input parameters 58 supplied to the ride vehiclemovement prediction model 56A may be indicative of current and/orprevious movement characteristics of a physical object, such as a ridevehicle 14, in the ride environment 12. In other words, the inputparameters 58 supplied to the ride vehicle movement prediction model 56Amay be indicative of a current movement profile and/or a previousmovement profile of the physical object in the ride environment. Assuch, based at least in part on the input parameters 58, the ridevehicle movement prediction model 56A may determine a predicted ridevehicle movement profile 64 that is expected to occur during aprediction horizon (e.g., subsequent time period). As used herein, a“predicted ride vehicle movement profile” of a ride vehicle 14 describesmovement characteristics of the ride vehicle 14 that are predicted(e.g., expected) to occur during a time period—namely a predictionhorizon.

Thus, as in the depicted example, the predicted ride vehicle movementprofile 64 may include one or more predicted ride vehicle movement times66. As used herein, a “predicted ride vehicle movement time” describes apredicted start time or a predicted stop time of a specific movement ofa corresponding ride vehicle 14 during the prediction horizon, forexample, indicated as an absolute time and/or a relative ride time. Inother words, in some embodiments, the predicted ride vehicle movementtimes 66 may include a start predicted ride vehicle movement time 66that indicates a time at which a specific movement of a correspondingride vehicle 14 starts (e.g., begins). Additionally, in someembodiments, the predicted ride vehicle movement times 66 may include astop predicted ride vehicle movement time 66 that indicates a time atwhich a specific movement of a corresponding ride vehicle 14 stops(e.g., ends).

A predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 may additionally oralternatively include one or more predicted ride vehicle movementdurations 68. As used herein, a “predicted ride vehicle movementduration” describes a duration over which a specific movement of acorresponding ride vehicle 14 is predicted to occur during theprediction horizon, for example, indicated in seconds and/or in minutes.Thus, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement duration 68may be determined based at least in part on a time difference between astart predicted ride vehicle movement time 66 and a corresponding stoppredicted ride vehicle movement time 66. In fact, in some embodiments,indication of predicted ride vehicle movement times 66 may be obviatedby indication of one or more predicted ride vehicle movement durations68 and, thus, not included in a predicted ride vehicle movement profile64 output from a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56. In otherembodiments, indication of a predicted ride vehicle movement duration 68may be obviated by indication of predicted ride vehicle movement times66 and, thus, not included in a predicted ride vehicle movement profile64 output from a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56.

Furthermore, a predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 may alsoinclude one or more predicted ride vehicle movement directions 70. Asused herein, a “predicted ride vehicle movement direction” describes amovement direction (e.g., orientation) of a corresponding ride vehicle14 that is predicted to occur at a corresponding predicted ride vehiclemovement time 66 and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehiclemovement duration 68 in the prediction horizon, for example, indicatedin degrees and/or radians. In some embodiments, a predicted ride vehiclemovement direction 70 may be determined as an orientation (e.g., offsetdirection) in a three dimensional (3D) space. Additionally oralternatively, a predicted ride vehicle movement direction 70 may bedetermined as an orientation in a horizontal plane and an orientation ina vertical plane. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a predicted ridevehicle movement direction 70 may be determined relative to acorresponding ride environment 12. Since portions of a ride environment12, such as a water body 42 and/or a wave 48, may be in motion, in someembodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement direction 70 may beadditionally or alternatively determined relative to a fixed referencepoint, such as the Earth.

Moreover, a predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 may include oneor more predicted ride vehicle movement magnitudes 72. As used herein, a“predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude” describes a movementmagnitude (e.g., distance) of a corresponding ride vehicle 14 that ispredicted to occur at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movementtime 66 and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movementduration 68 in the prediction horizon, for example, indicated in meters.In some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72 maybe determined as a distance (e.g., offset magnitude) in a threedimensional (3D) space. Additionally or alternatively, a predicted ridevehicle movement magnitude 72 may be determined as a distance in ahorizontal plane and a distance in a vertical plane.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude 72 may be determined relative to a corresponding rideenvironment 12. Since portions of a ride environment 12, such as a waterbody 42 and/or a wave 48, may be in motion, in some embodiments, apredicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72 may be additionally oralternatively determined relative to a fixed reference point, such as acorresponding virtual reality ride system 10 as a whole and/or thecenter of the Earth. For example, the predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude 72 may indicate that a corresponding ride vehicle is predictedto move a specific distance relative to the center of the Earth. In thismanner, a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56 may be implementedand/or operated to determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile64 that indicates movement characteristics of a corresponding ridevehicle 14 expected to occur during a subsequent period of time (e.g.,prediction horizon).

Returning to the virtual reality ride system 10 of FIG. 1, to facilitatereducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, the virtual realitysub-system 16 may generate and present virtual reality content to arider 40 of a ride vehicle 14 based at least in part on a correspondingpredicted ride vehicle movement profile 64. In particular, in someembodiments, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may adapt default virtualreality content 54 to facilitate compensating for movementcharacteristics indicated in the predicted ride vehicle movement profile64. For example, the virtual reality sub-system 16 may adapt defaultvirtual reality image content 54 at least in part by translating (e.g.,offsetting) the default virtual reality image content 54 in a predictedride vehicle movement direction 70 to generate adapted (e.g.,movement-coordinated) virtual reality image content and display (e.g.,present) the adapted virtual reality image content at a correspondingpredicted ride vehicle movement time 66.

To help further illustrate, an example of a process 74 for operating avirtual reality sub-system 16, which may be deployed in and/or utilizedby a virtual reality ride system 10, is shown in FIG. 5. Generally, theprocess 74 includes determining sensor data (process block 76) anddetermining a predicted ride vehicle movement profile based on thesensor data (process block 78). Additionally, the process 74 includesadapting default virtual reality content to coordinate with thepredicted ride vehicle movement profile (process block 80).

Although described in a particular order, which represents a particularembodiment, it should be noted that the process 74 may be performed inany suitable order. Additionally, embodiments of the process 74 may omitprocess blocks and/or include additional process blocks. Moreover, theprocess 74 may be implemented at least in part by executing instructionsstored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such asvirtual reality memory 34, using processing circuitry, such as virtualreality processing circuitry 32.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a virtual reality sub-system 16 mayreceive sensor data determined (e.g., measured and/or sensed) by one ormore sensors 28. As described above, a virtual reality sub-system 16 mayinclude one or more vehicle sensors 28A. Thus, in some such embodiments,determining the sensor data may include receiving vehicle sensor data60A output from one or more vehicle sensors 28A (process block 82). Asdescribed above, in some embodiments, the vehicle sensor data may beindicative of pose (e.g., orientation and/or location) of acorresponding ride vehicle 14, previous movement characteristics (e.g.,profile) of the ride vehicle 14, and/or current movement characteristicsof the ride vehicle 14.

Furthermore, as described above, a virtual reality sub-system 16 mayinclude one or more vehicle sensors 28A. Thus, in some such embodiments,determining the sensor data may include receiving rider sensor data 60Boutput from one or more rider sensors 28B (process block 84). Asdescribed above, in some embodiments, the rider sensor data may beindicative of pose of a corresponding rider 40 being carried by a ridevehicle 14.

Moreover, as described above, a virtual reality sub-system 16 mayadditionally or alternatively include one or more environment sensors28C. Thus, in some such embodiments, determining the sensor data mayinclude receiving environment sensor data 60C output from one or moreenvironment sensors 28C (process block 86). As described above, in someembodiments, environment sensor data 60C may be indicative of locationof a ride vehicle 14 in a corresponding ride environment 12, previousmovement characteristics (e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle 14 in theride environment 12, current movement characteristics of the ridevehicle 14 in the ride environment 12, and/or characteristics of othermovement, such as movement of a water body 42 and/or movement of a wave48, in the ride environment 12.

As described above, a sensor 28 may be communicatively coupled to an I/Ointerface 30 of a virtual reality sub-system 16 and virtual realityprocessing circuitry 32 may be communicatively coupled to the I/Ointerface 30. Thus, in such embodiments, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may receive sensor data 60 output from one or more sensors28 via one or more I/O interfaces 30 implemented in the virtual realitysub-system 16. Additionally, as described above, virtual realityprocessing circuitry 32 may be communicatively coupled to virtualreality memory 34 storing a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56,for example, which describes expected relationships between sensor data60 and a predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 that is expected tooccur during a prediction horizon.

Thus, based at least in part on the sensor data, the virtual realitysub-system 16 may determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64(process block 78). In particular, to facilitate determining thepredicted ride vehicle movement profile 64, in some embodiments, thevirtual reality processing circuitry 32 may execute a ride vehiclemovement prediction model 56 based at least in part on a set of inputparameters 58 including the sensor data 60, for example, in addition toone or more actuator control commands 65 and/or a default movementprofile of a corresponding ride vehicle 14. As described above, apredicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 of a ride vehicle 14 mayindicate predicted movement characteristics, such as movement time,movement duration, movement direction, and/or movement magnitude, of theride vehicle 14 that are expected to occur during a prediction horizon.

As such, in some embodiments, determining the predicted ride vehiclemovement profile 64 may include determining one or more predicted ridevehicle movement times 66 (process block 88). Additionally oralternatively, determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile64 may include determining one or more predicted ride vehicle movementdurations 68 (process block 90). Furthermore, in some embodiments,determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 may includedetermining one or more predicted ride vehicle movement directions 70(process block 92). Moreover, in some embodiments, determining thepredicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 may include determining oneor more predicted ride vehicle movement magnitudes 72 (process block94).

To facilitate reducing likelihood of virtual reality contentpresentation resulting in motion sickness, the virtual realitysub-system 16 may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality contentat least in part by adapting default virtual reality content 54 based onthe predicted ride vehicle movement profile 64 (process block 80). Inparticular, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality imagecontent at least in part by translating (e.g., offsetting and/orshifting) default virtual reality image content 54 in a predicted ridevehicle movement direction 70. In this manner, the virtual realitysub-system 16 may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality imagecontent, which when displayed (e.g., presented), results in a perceivedmovement direction that matches the predicted ride vehicle movementdirection 70.

Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality processing circuitry32 may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image contentat least in part by adding virtual content to the default virtualreality image content 54, for example, such that themovement-coordinated virtual reality image content visually depicts acause and/or a result of a physical ride vehicle movement. In someembodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 mayadditionally set a target presentation (e.g., display) time of themovement-coordinated virtual reality image content to match a predictedride vehicle movement time 66. In other words, in this manner, thevirtual reality sub-system 16 may generate the movement-coordinatedvirtual reality image content for display at a presentation time thatmatches the predicted ride vehicle movement time 66. Additionally oralternatively, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may set atarget presentation (e.g., display) duration of the movement-coordinatedvirtual reality image content to match a predicted ride vehicle movementduration 68. In this manner, the virtual reality sub-system 16 maygenerate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content fordisplay during a presentation duration that matches the predicted ridevehicle movement duration 68.

Moreover, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry32 may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image contentat least in part by translating the default virtual reality imagecontent 54 a distance determined based at least in part a predicted ridevehicle movement magnitude 72, for example, in a direction indicated bya corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement direction 70. In fact,in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 maygenerate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content suchthat presentation results in a perceived ride vehicle movement magnitudethat differs from a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude 72. For example, to facilitate providing a more exhilarating(e.g., improved) ride experience, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality contentat least in part by adapting the default virtual reality content 54 toproduce a perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude greater than acorresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72 (processblock 96). In other words, the movement-coordinated virtual realitycontent may include movement-exaggerated virtual reality content, whichwhen presented to a rider 40 of a ride vehicle 14, exaggerates magnitudeof a physical movement of the ride vehicle 14.

To help illustrate, an example of a process 98 for generatingmovement-exaggerated virtual reality content is described in FIG. 6.Generally, the process 98 includes determining a movement-exaggerationfactor (process block 100) and determining a target perceived ridevehicle movement magnitude by applying the movement-exaggeration factorto a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block 102).Additionally, the process 98 includes determining movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality content by adapting default virtual reality contentbased on the targeted perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (processblock 104).

Although described in a particular order, which represents a particularembodiment, it should be noted that the process 98 may be performed inany suitable order. Additionally, embodiments of the process 98 may omitprocess blocks and/or include additional process blocks. Moreover, theprocess 98 may be implemented at least in part by executing instructionsstored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such asvirtual reality memory 34, using processing circuitry, such as virtualreality processing circuitry 32.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, virtual reality processing circuitry32 in a virtual reality sub-system 16 may determine one or moremovement-exaggeration factors (process block 100). As will be describedin more detail below, in some embodiments, a movement-exaggerationfactor may be pre-determined by a design system via a calibrationprocess and stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readablemedium, such as virtual reality memory 34. Thus, in such embodiments,the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may retrieve themovement-exaggeration factor from the tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable medium.

In some embodiments, the movement-exaggeration factors may include oneor more offset (e.g., bias) values. Additionally or alternatively, themovement-exaggeration factors may include one or more gain (e.g., scale)values. In fact, in some embodiments, virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may adaptively (e.g., dynamically) determine the value ofone or more movement-exaggeration factors to be applied based onpotentially varying operating factors, such as content of virtualreality content and/or predicted ride vehicle movement characteristics.In other words, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may select different movement-exaggeration factors underdiffering operating factors.

For example, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may apply alarger movement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggeratedvirtual reality content corresponding with a ride climax, such as afight scene. As another example, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may apply a larger movement-exaggeration factor to generatemotion exaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with a longerpredicted ride vehicle movement duration 68 and a smallermovement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggerated virtualreality content corresponding with a shorter predicted ride vehiclemovement duration 68 or vice versa. As a further example, the virtualreality processing circuitry 32 may apply a larger movement-exaggerationfactor to generate motion exaggerated virtual reality contentcorresponding with a larger predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72and a smaller movement-exaggeration factor to generate motionexaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with smaller predictedride vehicle movement magnitude 72 or vice versa.

The virtual reality processing circuitry 32 may then apply the one ormore movement-exaggeration factors to a predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude 72 to determine a target perceived ride vehicle movementmagnitude (process block 102). For example, when a movement-exaggerationfactor is an offset value, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32may apply the movement-exaggeration factor to determine a targetperceived ride vehicle movement magnitude biased relative to thepredicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72. Additionally oralternatively, when a movement-exaggeration factor is a gain value, thevirtual reality processing circuitry 32 may apply themovement-exaggeration factor to determine a target perceived ridevehicle movement magnitude scaled relative to the predicted ride vehiclemovement magnitude 72.

To determine movement-exaggerated virtual reality content, the virtualreality processing circuitry 32 may adapt the default virtual realitycontent 54 based at least in part on the target perceived ride vehiclemovement magnitude (process block 104). For example, the virtual realityprocessing circuitry 32 may generate movement-exaggerated virtualreality image content at least in part by adapting (e.g., translatingand/or shifting) default virtual reality image content 54 such that,when displayed, the movement-exaggerated virtual reality image contentresults in the target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude. Inother words, in such embodiments, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may determine movement-exaggerated virtual reality contentincluded in movement coordinate virtual reality content based at leastin part on a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude thatdiffers from a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude72.

To facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, asdescribed above, a virtual reality sub-system 16 may present themovement-coordinated virtual reality content to a rider 40 of a ridevehicle 14 in coordination with predicted movement characteristics ofthe ride vehicle 14. For example, in some embodiments, virtual realityprocessing circuitry 32 may instruct one or more (e.g., haptic) vehicleactuators 18 to present movement-coordinated virtual reality tactilecontent at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time 66and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration68. Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processingcircuitry 32 may instruct one or more audio speakers 38 to presentmovement-coordinated virtual reality audio content at a correspondingpredicted ride vehicle movement time 66 and/or during a correspondingpredicted ride vehicle movement duration 68. Furthermore, in someembodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry 32 mayadditionally or alternatively instruct one or more electronic displays36 to present (e.g., display) movement-coordinated virtual reality imagecontent at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time 66and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration68.

However, as described above, at least in some instances, a rider 40 on aride vehicle 14 of a virtual reality ride system 10 may experiencemotion sickness when sensory (e.g., visual and vestibular) systems ofthe rider 40 detect differing movement characteristics. Additionally, asdescribed above, motion exaggerated virtual reality content included inmotion coordinated virtual reality content may be generated based on atarget perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude that differs from(e.g., greater than) a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude 72. In other words, the perceived ride vehicle movementmagnitude resulting from presentation of motion exaggerated virtualreality content may differ from the predicted ride vehicle movementmagnitude 72 and, thus, potentially differ from a corresponding actualmovement magnitude of the ride vehicle 14.

As such, to facilitate providing a more exhilarating ride experiencewith reduced likelihood of producing motion sickness, in someembodiments, determination of motion exaggerated virtual reality contentmay be calibrated (e.g., tuned) via a calibration (e.g., tuning)process. In particular, in such embodiments, the calibration process maybe performed to determine the value of one or more movement-exaggerationfactors to be applied to a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72.Additionally, in some embodiments, the calibration process may beperformed by a design system, for example, offline, before deployment ofa virtual reality sub-system 16 in a virtual reality ride system 10,and/or before an operation cycle of the virtual reality sub-system 16.

To help illustrate, an example of a design (e.g., calibration and/ortuning) system 106 is shown in FIG. 7. As in the depicted example, thedesign system 106 includes a design device 108 communicatively coupledto a virtual reality sub-system 16A. In other embodiments, a designsystem 106 may include multiple (e.g., more than one) design devices108. Additionally or alternatively, in other embodiments, a designdevice 108 may only be communicatively coupled to a virtual realitysub-system 16 after completion of the calibration process.

As described above, a virtual reality sub-system 16 may include anelectronic display 36 and virtual reality (VR) memory 34. Additionally,as described above, virtual reality memory 34 may store instructionsand/or data to be used by a virtual reality sub-system 16. Inparticular, as in the depicted example, the data stored in the virtualreality memory 34A may include candidate movement-exaggerated virtualreality content 110 and a movement-exaggeration factor 112, for example,determined via a calibration process performed by the design device 108.

To facilitate performing a calibration process, as in the depictedexample, the design device 108 may include one or more design processors114 (e.g., control circuitry and/or processing circuitry) and designmemory 116. In some embodiments, the design memory 116 may store data tobe used by the one or more design processors 114. In particular, as inthe depicted example, the data stored in the design memory 116 mayinclude one or more candidate movement-exaggeration factors 118. Thus,in some embodiments, the design memory 116 may include one or moretangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media. For example, thedesign memory 116 may include one or more random access memory (RAM)devices, one or more read only memory (ROM) devices, one or morerewritable non-volatile memory devices, such as a flash memory drive, ahard disk drive, an optical disc drive, and/or the like.

In addition to data, in some embodiments, the design memory 116 maystore instructions to be executed by processing circuitry, such as adesign processor 114. For example, the one or more design processors 114may execute instructions stored in the design memory 116 to generatecandidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content 110 correspondingwith the one or more candidate movement-exaggeration factors 118.Additionally or alternatively, a design processor 114 may operate basedon circuit connections formed therein. As such, in some embodiments, theone or more design processors 144 may include one or more generalpurpose microprocessors, one or more application specific processors(ASICs), one or more field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or anycombination thereof.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, the design device 108 mayinclude one or more input devices 120. In other embodiments, one or moreinput devices 120 may additionally or alternatively be included in avirtual reality sub-system 16. In any case, an input device 120 maygenerally be implemented and/or operated to receive a user (e.g.,operator) input. As such, in some embodiments, the input devices 120 mayinclude one or more buttons, one or more keyboards, one or more mice,one or more trackpads, and/or the like. For example, to facilitateselecting a movement-exaggeration factor 112 from multiple candidatemovement-exaggeration factors 118 during a calibration process, an inputdevice 120 may receive a user input that indicates whether presentationof corresponding candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality contentresults in motion sickness.

To help further illustrate, an example of a calibration process 122,which may be performed by a design system 106 and/or a design device108, is described in FIG. 8. Generally, the calibration process 122includes determining a candidate movement-exaggeration factor (processblock 124), determining a candidate perceived ride vehicle movementmagnitude by applying the candidate movement-exaggeration factor to acalibration ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block 126), andgenerating candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content basedon the candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (processblock 128). Additionally, the calibration process 122 includesconcurrently producing the calibration ride vehicle movement magnitudeand presenting the candidate movement-exaggerated virtual realitycontent (process block 130), determining whether motion sickness results(decision block 132), determining a next largest candidatemovement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness results (process block134), and selecting the candidate as a movement-exaggeration factor whenmotion sickness does not result (process block 136).

Although described in a particular order, which represents a particularembodiment, it should be noted that the calibration process 122 may beperformed in any suitable order. Additionally, embodiments of thecalibration process 122 may omit process blocks and/or includeadditional process blocks. Furthermore, in some embodiments, thecalibration process 122 may be performed at least in part by amanufacturer that produces a virtual reality sub-system 16 and/or asystem integrator that produces a virtual reality ride system 10.Moreover, in some embodiments, the calibration process 122 may beimplemented at least in part by executing instructions stored in atangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as designmemory 116, using processing circuitry, such as one or more designprocessors 114.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a design device 108 may determine oneor more candidate movement-exaggeration factors 118 (process block 124).In particular, in some embodiments, the design device 108 may determinemultiple candidate movement-exaggeration factors 118 each with adifferent value. Additionally, to facilitate providing a moreexhilarating ride experience, in some embodiments, the design device 108may evaluate the candidate movement-exaggeration factors 118 indescending value order. In other words, in such embodiments, the designdevice 108 may evaluate a candidate movement-exaggeration factor 118with the largest value before other candidate movement-exaggerationfactors 118.

By applying a candidate movement-exaggeration factor 118 to acalibration ride vehicle magnitude, the design device 108 may determinea candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude corresponding withthe candidate movement-exaggeration factor 118 (process block 126). Inparticular, the calibration ride vehicle magnitude may be the movementmagnitude of a ride vehicle 14 in a ride environment 12. In other words,the candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude may match atarget perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude resulting fromapplication of the candidate movement-exaggeration factor 118 to apredicted ride vehicle movement magnitude 72 that matches thecalibration ride vehicle magnitude.

Based at least in part on the candidate ride vehicle movement magnitude,the design device 108 may generate candidate movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality content 110 (process block 128). In some embodiments,the design device 108 may generate candidate movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality content 110 at least in part by adapting default virtualreality content 54 based at least in part on the candidate ride vehiclemovement magnitude. For example, to generate candidatemovement-exaggerated virtual reality image content 110, the designdevice 108 may shift (e.g., translate) default virtual reality imagecontent 54 by the candidate ride vehicle movement magnitude.

The design device 108 may then instruct a virtual reality sub-system 16to concurrently produce the calibration ride movement magnitude andpresent the candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content(process block 130). For example, the design device 108 may instruct thevirtual reality sub-system 16 to present (e.g., display) candidatemovement-exaggerated virtual reality image content 110 to a rider 40 ofa ride vehicle 14. As described above, in some embodiments, movement ofa ride vehicle 14 in a ride environment 12 of a virtual reality ridesystem 10 may be controlled at least in part by controlling operation ofone or more actuators, such as a vehicle actuator 18 and/or anenvironment actuator 20. Thus, in such embodiments, the design device108 may instruct the virtual reality ride system 10 to produce thecalibration ride movement magnitude at least in part by controlling theone or more actuators. Additionally or alternatively, the design device108 may instruct the virtual reality sub-system 16 to artificiallyproduce the calibration ride movement magnitude, for example, via one ormore calibration (e.g., temporary) actuators coupled to a ride vehicle14 during the calibration process 122.

The design device 108 may then determine whether motion sickness resultsfrom presenting the candidate movement-exaggerated virtual realitycontent concurrently with occurrence of the calibration ride vehiclemovement magnitude (decision block 132). In some embodiments, the designdevice 108 may determine whether motion sickness results based at leastin part on a user (e.g., rider) input received from the rider 40 of theride vehicle 14 via one or more input devices 120. For example, thedesign device 108 may determine that motion sickness results when theuser input selects a first input device 120 (e.g., YES button) and thatmotion sickness does not result when the user input selects a second(e.g., different) input device 120 (e.g., NO button).

When motion sickness does not result, the design device 108 may selectthe candidate movement-exaggeration factor 118 as amovement-exaggeration factor 112 to be applied during subsequentoperation of the virtual reality sub-system 16, for example, afterdeployment in a virtual reality ride system 10 (process block 136). Asdescribed above, in some embodiments, the selected movement-exaggerationfactor 112 may be stored in a tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable medium in the virtual reality sub-system 16, such asvirtual reality memory 34A. When motion sickness results, the designdevice 108 may determine a next largest candidate movement-exaggerationfactor 118 (process block 134).

The design device 108 may then evaluate the next largest candidatemovement-exaggeration factor 118 in a similar manner. In other words,the design device 108 may determine another candidate perceived ridevehicle movement magnitude by applying the next largest candidatemovement-exaggeration factor 118 to the calibration ride vehiclemagnitude (process block 126), generate other candidatemovement-exaggerated virtual reality content based on the othercandidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block 128),concurrently producing the calibration ride vehicle movement magnitudeand presenting the other candidate movement-exaggerated virtual realitycontent (process block 130), determining whether motion sickness results(decision block 132), selecting the next largest candidate as themovement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness does not result(process block 136), determining another next largest candidatemovement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness results (process block134). In this manner, the techniques described in the present disclosuremay facilitate reducing the likelihood of producing motion sicknesswhile providing a more exhilarating and, thus, improved virtual realityride experience.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample. It should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and/or alternative forms. It shouldbe further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited tothe particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ,” it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

What is claimed is:
 1. A virtual reality ride system comprising: anelectronic display configured to present virtual reality image contentto a rider while the rider is being carried through a variable rideenvironment by a ride vehicle configured to traverse the variable rideenvironment; one or more sensors configured to determine sensor dataindicative of movement characteristics of the ride vehicle in thevariable ride environment; and virtual reality processing circuitrycommunicatively coupled to the electronic display and the one or moresensors, wherein the virtual reality processing circuitry is configuredto: determine a predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle withinthe variable ride environment based at least in part on the sensor datareceived from the one or more sensors, wherein the predicted movementprofile indicates that the ride vehicle is expected to move a predictedmovement magnitude during a predicted movement duration; determine atarget perceived movement magnitude greater than the predicted movementmagnitude at least in part by applying a movement-exaggeration factor tothe predicted movement magnitude; and determine movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality image content to be presented on the electronic displayduring the predicted movement duration at least in part by adaptingdefault virtual reality image content to incorporate the targetperceived movement magnitude.
 2. The virtual reality ride system ofclaim 1, wherein the virtual reality ride system is a roller coasterride system, a lazy river ride system, a log flume ride system, a boatride system, a drop tower ride system, a pendulum ride system, a swingride system, a scrambler ride system, or a robotic arm ride system. 3.The virtual reality ride system of claim 1, wherein the virtual realityprocessing circuitry is configured to instruct the electronic display todisplay the movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content duringthe predicted movement duration corresponding with the predictedmovement magnitude.
 4. The virtual reality ride system of claim 1,wherein the virtual reality processing circuitry is configured todetermine the movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content atleast in part by translating the default virtual reality image content adistance corresponding with the target perceived movement magnitude. 5.The virtual reality ride system of claim 1, wherein: the predictedmovement profile indicates that the ride vehicle is expected to movewithin the variable ride environment an additional predicted movementmagnitude during an additional predicted movement duration; and thevirtual reality processing circuitry is configured to: determine anadditional target perceived movement magnitude greater than theadditional predicted movement magnitude at least in part by applying anadditional movement-exaggeration factor to the additional predictedmovement magnitude; and determine additional movement-exaggeratedvirtual reality image content to be presented on the electronic displayduring the additional predicted movement duration at least in part byadapting additional default virtual reality image content to incorporatethe additional target perceived movement magnitude.
 6. The virtualreality ride system of claim 5, wherein a value of themovement-exaggeration factor applied to the predicted movement magnitudeis different from a value of the additional movement-exaggeration factorapplied to the additional predicted movement magnitude when: imagecontent of the movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content to bepresented on the electronic display during the predicted movementduration differs from the additional movement-exaggerated virtualreality image content to be presented on the electronic display duringthe additional predicted movement duration; the predicted movementmagnitude of the ride vehicle expected to occur during the predictedmovement duration differs from the additional predicted movementmagnitude of the ride vehicle that is expected to occur during theadditional predicted movement duration; duration of the predictedmovement duration differs from duration of the additional predictedmovement duration; or any combination thereof.
 7. The virtual realityride system of claim 1, wherein the movement-exaggeration factorcomprises an offset value, a gain value, or both.
 8. The virtual realityride system of claim 1, wherein: the predicted movement profileindicates that the ride vehicle is expected to move in a predictedmovement direction within the variable ride environment during thepredicted movement duration; and the virtual reality processingcircuitry is configured to determine the movement-exaggerated virtualreality image content to be presented on the electronic display duringthe predicted movement duration at least in part by adapting the defaultvirtual reality image content to incorporate a perceived movementdirection that matches the predicted movement direction of the ridevehicle.
 9. The virtual reality ride system of claim 1, wherein thevirtual reality processing circuitry is configured to determine thepredicted movement profile of the ride vehicle by extrapolating a ridevehicle movement prediction model that at least in part describes one ormore expected relationships between the sensor data and subsequentmovement characteristics of the ride vehicle.
 10. The virtual realityride system of claim 1, wherein: the variable ride environment comprisesa water body and at least one buoy configured to float on the waterbody; and the one or more sensors comprise an environment sensorimplemented on the at least one buoy, wherein the environment sensor isconfigured to determine sensor data indicative of proximity of the ridevehicle to the at least one buoy, movement characteristics of the atleast one buoy, movement characteristics of a wave in the water body, orany combination thereof.
 11. The virtual reality ride system of claim 1,wherein: the variable ride environment comprises a water body and a walladjacent the water body; and the one or more sensors comprise at leastone environment sensor positioned on the wall, wherein the at least oneenvironment sensor is configured to determine sensor data indicative ofproximity of the ride vehicle to the wall, movement characteristics of awave in the water body, or both.
 12. The virtual reality ride system ofclaim 1, wherein the ride vehicle is configured to traverse a variablepath of a plurality of variable paths defined by the variable rideenvironment during a first pass through the virtual reality ride system,and wherein the ride vehicle is configured to traverse an additionalvariable path of the plurality of variable paths, different than thevariable path, during a second pass through the virtual reality ridesystem.
 13. A method of operating a virtual reality ride system,comprising: receiving, using processing circuitry implemented in thevirtual reality ride system, sensor data determined by one or moresensors while a ride vehicle is moving through a variable rideenvironment of the virtual reality ride system, wherein the variableride environment defines a plurality of variable paths through which theride vehicle is configured to traverse; predicting, using the processingcircuitry and a ride vehicle movement prediction model, a movementmagnitude that the ride vehicle will experience within the variable rideenvironment at a time during a prediction horizon based at least in parton the sensor data received from the one or more sensors; determining,using the processing circuitry, a target perceived movement magnitudecorresponding with the time during the prediction horizon at least inpart by applying one or more movement-exaggeration factors to themovement magnitude that the ride vehicle is predicted to experiencewithin the variable ride environment at the time during the predictionhorizon; and determining, using the processing circuitry,movement-exaggerated virtual reality content to be presented to a riderof the ride vehicle at the time by adapting default virtual realitycontent corresponding with the time during the prediction horizon basedat least in part on the target perceived movement magnitude.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, comprising instructing, using the processingcircuitry, an electronic display carried by the ride vehicle to displaythe movement-exaggerated virtual reality content at the time.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, comprising: predicting, using the processingcircuitry, an additional movement magnitude that the ride vehicle willexperience within the variable ride environment at an additional timeduring the prediction horizon based at least in part on the sensor datareceived from the one or more sensors; determining, using the processingcircuitry, an additional target perceived movement magnitudecorresponding with the additional time during the prediction horizon atleast in part by applying the one or more movement-exaggeration factorsto the additional movement magnitude that the ride vehicle is predictedto experience within the variable ride environment at the additionaltime during the prediction horizon; and determining, using theprocessing circuitry, additional movement-exaggerated virtual realitycontent to be presented to a rider of the ride vehicle at the additionaltime by adapting default virtual reality content corresponding with theadditional time during the prediction horizon based at least in part onthe additional target perceived movement magnitude.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, comprising predicting, using the processing circuitry, amovement direction that the ride vehicle will experience within thevariable ride environment at the time during the prediction horizonbased at least in part on the sensor data received from the one or moresensors, wherein adapting the default virtual reality to determine themovement-exaggerated virtual reality content comprises: shifting thedefault virtual reality content in a direction corresponding with themovement direction that the ride vehicle is predicted to experiencewithin the variable ride environment at the time; and shifting thedefault virtual reality content a distance corresponding with the targetperceived movement magnitude that differs from the movement magnitudethat the ride vehicle is predicted to experience within the variableride environment at the time.
 17. A tangible, non-transitory, computerreadable medium storing instructions executable by one or moreprocessors of a virtual reality ride system, wherein the instructionscomprise instructions to: determine, using the one or more processors,sensor data measured by one or more sensors as a ride vehicle iscarrying a rider through a changeable ride environment of the virtualreality ride system, wherein the ride vehicle is configured to traversea variable path of a plurality of variable paths defined by thechangeable ride environment; determine, using the one or moreprocessors, a predicted movement magnitude of the ride vehicle withinthe changeable ride environment that is predicted to occur during asubsequent time period based at least in part on the sensor datameasured by the one or more sensors; and determine, using the one ormore processors, movement-exaggerated virtual reality image contentbased at least in part on the predicted movement magnitude such thatpresentation of the movement-exaggerated virtual reality image contentto the rider results in a perceived movement magnitude that differs fromthe predicted movement magnitude of the ride vehicle within thechangeable ride environment.
 18. The tangible, non-transitory, computerreadable medium of claim 17, comprising instructions to instruct, usingthe one or more processors, an electronic display carried by the ridevehicle to display the movement-exaggerated virtual reality imagecontent during the subsequent time period in which the predictedmovement magnitude of the ride vehicle is predicted to occur.
 19. Thetangible, non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 17, whereinthe instructions to determine the movement-exaggerated virtual realityimage content comprise instructions to: determine a target magnitude ofthe perceived movement magnitude that differs from the predictedmovement magnitude at least in part by applying one or moremovement-exaggeration factors to the predicted movement magnitude of theride vehicle; and offsetting default virtual reality image contentcorresponding with the subsequent time period a distance correspondingwith the target magnitude of the perceived movement magnitude thatdiffers from the predicted movement magnitude of the ride vehicle. 20.The tangible, non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 17,comprising instructions to determine, using the one or more processors,a predicted movement direction of the ride vehicle that is predicted tooccur during the subsequent time period based at least in part on thesensor data measured by the one or more sensors, wherein theinstructions to determine the movement-exaggerated virtual reality imagecontent comprise instructions to: offset default virtual reality imagecontent corresponding with the subsequent time period in a directioncorresponding with the predicted movement direction of the ride vehiclethat is predicted to occur during the subsequent time period; and offsetthe default virtual reality content corresponding with the subsequenttime period a distance corresponding with a target magnitude of theperceived movement magnitude that differs from the predicted movementmagnitude of the ride vehicle.